U.S. banks prepared to take advantage of Euro lenders' cautions, WSJ saysU.S. banks are preparing to advance in the sector after reporting earnings, with executives touting the gloom coming from their European counterparts as a major opportunity to capitalize on their newfound advantage, the Wall Street Journal reports. On Thursday, Deutsche Bank (DB) CEO John Cryan said that the company must "shrink" its balance sheet, while Barclays (BCS) chairman John McFarlane said that Wall Street lenders are "an enormous threat" to Euro investment banks, the report says. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley (MS) chairman James Gorman said after reporting earnings last week that the company is poised to advanced in the debt trading sector, and that "there's a potential for, over a period of time, share gain for our business," the report says. In addition, Goldman Sachs finance chief Harvey Schwartz said that the company is "seeing potential big restructuring on the European side," the report adds. Publicly traded companies in the European space include Banco Santander (SAN), Barclays (BCS), Credit Suisse (CS), Deutsche Bank (DB), HSBC (HSBC), ING Groep (ING), Lloyds Banking (LYG), RBS (RBS) and UBS (UBS). Publicly traded companies in the U.S. space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Reference Link

Wells Fargo to withdraw from mortgage marketing service agreements with RE firmsWells Fargo Bank, N.A. announced that it will withdraw from mortgage marketing services and desk rental agreements with real estate firms, builders and certain other referral sources. The decision was made as a result of increasing uncertainty surrounding regulatory oversight of these types of arrangements and as part of Wells Fargo’s ongoing efforts to simplify the process that customers experience as they weigh all of their choices when shopping for a mortgage. “Real estate firms and builders always have been—and will continue to be—very important to Wells Fargo’s retail mortgage operations, and we are exploring a number of new options for enhancing and strengthening those relationships over the long term,” said Franklin Codel, executive vice president for mortgage production at the company. “Because we value our strong relationships with real estate professionals and builders, the decision to exit these marketing services agreements was difficult, but we are taking this action to ensure that we continue to conduct our business in a way that represents the best interests of all of our customers and clients. We believe the best way to earn the relationship with real estate firms and builders is through timely, dependable service delivered by the best team in the business.” The decision is effective Aug. 1 and the wind down will occur over the following 90 days. Termination of these marketing services agreements is not expected to have a material impact on Wells Fargo’s total mortgage production.

Banks pitch total-return swaps as stock purchase alternative, WSJ reportsBanks have been pitching certain hedge fund clients on using derivatives instead of actual stocks when placing certain bets in an effort to lessen the impact of new capital rules on the banks' businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the efforts. The shift involves derivatives known as total-return swaps that mirror the effects of owning a stock or other asset, the report says. Units of Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), and UBS (UBS) are among the banks asking clients to shift trades into total-return swaps instead of underlying securities, the report says. Reference Link

Wells Fargo currently testing mobile biometrics, WSJ reportsWells Fargo is currently testing voice recognition and eye scanning in an effort to use biometrics technology to authenticate customers using their mobile applications, the Wall street Journal reports, citing comments from Steve Ellis, head of Wells Fargo's new Innovation Group. Wells Fargo's mobile development efforts include testing an assist using artificial intelligence technology and the bank expects to launch the software in 2016, the report says. Reference Link

UBS says U.S.-based brokerage business not for sale, Reuters reportsUBS CEO Sergio Ermotti told analysts following the company's Q2 results that its U.S-based brokerage business, which posted a 6% decline in Q2 profit before tax, is not up for sale, Reuters reports. UBS formed the unit when it bought PaineWebber in 2000, and Ermotti says the unit is "critical" to the bank's overall private banking strategy. Reference Link

UBS steps back from Puerto Rico bond funds, Reuters reportsUBS is backing away from its Puerto Rico bond funds, telling clients that they can no longer use them as collateral for some loans after Puerto Rico's financial troubles resulted in major credit agency downgrades, Reuters reports, citing a July 13 letter to clients. UBS' Puerto Rico unit said it will contact investors to discuss alternative options, the report says. Reference Link

Wells Fargo 'poised for growth,' Barron's saysWells Fargo is a "high quality" value stock and the "well-managed" company could be "poised for growth" given the potential for interest rate hikes before the end of the year, Barron's contends in its 'Weekday Trader' column. Reference Link